Kraken Vs Coinbase | Exchange Comparison Review for 2020

Cryptocurrency traders often have difficulty deciphering the Kraken vs Coinbase question. Both Kraken and Coinbase are both massively popular cryptocurrency exchanges. The pair both make it extremely easy to buy and sell cryptocurrencies online but vary greatly in terms of coins supported, ease of use, fee structure, and more.

Let this guide serve as a helpful resource to evaluate the pros and cons of Kraken vs Coinbase.

Kraken vs Coinbase: Listed Assets

When searching for a place to buy and sell cryptocurrencies it’s important to understand exactly which currencies each platform will allow you to trade.

Coinbase currently supports only 9 currencies.

Currencies available for purchase on Coinbase’s mobile app

The coins currently available on Coinbase include:

Bitcoin

Ethereum

XRP

Bitcoin Cash

Litecoin

Stellar Lumens

Chainlink

Ethereum Classic

DAI

Kraken supports significantly more coins than Coinbase (31 to be exact).

The full list of available coins can be found below. Whether the coin is available for purchase with fiat will depend on your country’s home currency.

Augur

Basic Attention Token

Bitcoin

Bitcoin Cash

Cardano

Chainlink

Cosmos

Dash

Dai

Dogecoin

EOS

Ethereum

Ethereum Classic

Gnosis

ICON

Lisk

Litecoin

Watermelon

Monero

Nano

OmiseGO

PAX Gold

QTUM

Ripple

Siacoin

Stellar Lumens

Tether (Omni Layer)

Tezos

USD Coin

Waves

Zcash

In short, if you want to be able to trade a wide range of coins, Kraken is the better exchange for you.

Kraken vs Coinbase: Fees

Before you start buying and selling crypto on an exchange it’s important to understand what you will be paying for the service. Exchange fees can be broken down into three main categories:

Deposit fees

Withdrawal fees

Trading fees

Deposit fees

Deposit fees are what you will pay to get your assets into the exchange.

Kraken vs Coinbase: User Experience

Interface simplicity

Coinbase is a significantly simpler and more easy-to-navigate platform. That said, simplicity often comes with a limitation in capabilities.

Kraken‘s platform is much more complex looking than Coinbase. While this allows for a lot more features, it can be a bit overwhelming to cryptocurrency newbies.

Customer support

Coinbase offers customer support via email and phone to deal with account issues and other support inquiries. However, when it comes to customer support, Coinbase has historically flopped.

Kraken, on the other hand, appears to consistently offer relatively good support for its clients. A common complaint, however, is verification times.

Kraken vs Coinbase: Summary

The Kraken vs Coinbase question is a tough one to answer as both are great options for buying and selling cryptocurrencies. However, they are both intended for digital asset investors of different experience levels. While Coinbase has a simpler interface that beginners will find very user-friendly, it is more limited in terms of capabilities than Kraken.

Who should use Coinbase:

You are an absolute beginner looking for an easy solution to buy and sell digital currencies.

Who should use Kraken:

You are somewhat experienced in cryptocurrency investing and would like a well-regulated and well-established digital asset exchange with added functionality.

Regardless of whether you choose Kraken or Coinbase, you are then going to need an app to track the performance of your portfolios. Fortunately, CoinStats, one of the most highly-rated cryptocurrency portfolio tracking apps in the App Store allows you to sync transactions from both Coinbase and Kraken. The app is available for iOS, Android, Web, Apple Watch, and Desktop.